Professor Samuel J. Redman appeared in the latest issue of the History of Anthropology newsletter. He discusses his experiences working for the National Anthropology Archives (NAA) in Washington D.C., and how talking with the archivists working there informed his academic work, which he calls a "deep hanging out." He reflects on the importance of interpersonal relations in the archives for historical work, and the often-unrecognized role that archivists play in shaping scholarship.
"...over the sustained period I spent there I had the chance to eat with the archivists in the small café in the building and learn more about the collections ... It was through this sort of informal discussion that I was told about the Army Medical Museum records housed at the NAA. Truth be told, a seemingly unsophisticated part of my historical research methodology became a sort of “deep hanging out” (a phrase Clifford Geertz used to describe certain ethnographic experiences) in which I engaged as a historian with thoughtful archivists, collections managers, and curators willing to share information about the collections."
Find the full article here.